There was a while there when it looked like the Habs might fall out of the playoff picture, but they are now a solid 9-2-3 in their last 14 games. Meanwhile the Panthers are watching their playoff hopes fade as they’ve lost both of their games coming out of the all-star break.

The Kings are now 1-0-1 in the first two games of what could be a make-or-break 10 game road run. They won’t play again until Saturday, so winning this game should improve their spirits considerably.

Magnus Paajarvi scored the opening goal, but the Kings scored three unanswered tallies, with Ryan Smyth tying and then winning it while Jack Johnson earned an insurance marker. Ales Hemsky failed to score a point in his return, but played a little more than 20 minutes.

The Canucks earned their fourth win a row, putting them four points ahead of the Flyers for the top spot in the NHL. While Vancouver is prospering, the Coyotes are watching what looked like a semi-comfortable playoff spot after losing two games in a row in two very different ways.

Roberto Luongo earned a shutout with 23 saves while Ryan Kesler scored two goals and four other Canucks filled the net.

While the Canucks pounded the Coyotes, the Sharks earned a come from behind victory against Phoenix last night. They nearly allowed a similar thing to happen to them tonight, as they almost coughed up a 3-0 lead to the Ducks but held on for their second win a row. To underscore the constant upheaval in the West, San Jose is now in fifth place.